As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses continually seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users of information is an information handling system. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Information handling systems, including computer systems, typically include at least one microprocessor, memory, and various input and output devices. The power consumed by a microprocessor typically generates heat in the interior of the computer system. As computer systems grow in speed and shrink in size, issues of heat dissipation and component spacing in the interior of the computer system become more important. The heat generated by a microprocessor is especially problematic in multiple processor systems, including many server systems, in which multiple processors are located on a single motherboard. Because most microprocessors do not have a physical structure to remove the heat generated by the microprocessor, many computer systems include a heat sink that is placed near the microprocessor to dissipate the heat generated by the microprocessor. Heat sinks are used to draw heat away from the microprocessor and the motherboard.
To increase the performance and reliability of heat sinks, some manufacturers of computers systems have begun using active heat sinks, which are characterized by the placement of a fan on top of or on the side of heat sink to aid in the convective heat transfer across the heat sink. An active heat sink aids the cooling of the processor in that it eliminates the dependency of the processor on the system fan or fans for the circulation of air in the interior of the computer system. The placement of a rotating fan in a computer system, however, raises safety issues related to the ability of a user to injure himself or herself by accidentally placing a finger or foreign object in the fan. Although a fan guard may help prevent an object from being placed in the fan, the placement of a fan guard around the fan reduces the air flow through the fan and can produce an undesirable audible noise.
Many heat sinks include a design that includes a base with a number of parallel fins coupled to the base. Depending on the distance between adjacent fins, the length of the fins, and the speed and direction of forced air flow through the fins, a boundary layer may be established between adjacent fins, limiting the heat transfer between the fins and the air between the fins. Heat sinks having more closely spaced fins or lengthy fins are more likely to generate a boundary layer between adjacent fins that limits the degree of heat transfer. In addition, lengthy and closely spaced fins tend to limit the air turbulence or swirling of air between adjacent fins, thereby limiting the heat dissipation of the forced air through the fins.